Great event ,good course we'll put together ,one small niggle the water station for the 10k was to far into the course would have been better around 6-7 km and not at the 8-8.5 mark

I've done a lot of races in my time - This is definitely in my top 5

Well organised, family event with closed roads, fantastic crowd support and great atmosphere. Will be back again in the near future to Beat The Bridge, it totally took me by surprise and next time I WILL beat the bridge :-)

Great medal and love the t-shirt......

Fantastic event, well organised start and finish procedures. Only one improvement I would love to see next year - hydration station a little earlier than 8k into a 10k run.

Thanks for putting on such a great event.

Great atmosphere & a super day out for the family, but problems with the course spoiled the day. Need a much bigger gap between the half and full marathons to ensure that the leading marathon contenders aren't having to pick their way through much slower half runners. Also, please adopt UKA rules for all runners & ban headphones - these prevent slower runners from sensing when they are being passed (which causes people to run into each other); prevent runners from hearing safety instructions from marshals; and (as happened on Sunday) stop runners from hearing the approach of an emergency services vehicle that was trying to push through the crowds.

Nice 9am start and easy to get in and out of how. The first lap was lovely with support everywhere but on the second lap you are on your own with only the drinks stops as support until you have a few runners who have finished on the bridge supporting.

Terrific race, clever idea of having your name on the race number, the spectators shouting out your name gave encouragement, especially over the bridge!!!

Great race, wonderful atmosphere, can't wait for next year!!!

Very well organised event, there were quite a few supporters on the route (the event is presumably growing year on year) and the marshalls were fantastic - really encouraging.
Suggestions I would make - perhaps a bit more warning of the water stations coming up and my husband managed to miss the gels on offer completely so a sign for those would be good.

Superb day with brilliant organisation and facilities. Amazing atmosphere and volunteers.
Thank you :)

Finishers medal and shirt were really good. The course was demanding but enjoyable.
The water/gel stations were poorly organised.
Didn't think much of the alcohol free beer being handed out at the finish.

Hi,

Southampton half marathon 23.4.2017
Pros
- better organised start than 2016
- the sub 1:35 pace maker was spot on his time
- Toilets were better than last year, as there were more of them.
- Technical T-Shirt is a better fit than last years.
- Free buses
- good spacing of the water stations, as it was a hotter day than i'd like due to the sun coming out right at the start of the half marathon.
Cons
- the mix of the 10K runners was too disruptive for the last 4k. This was especially dangerous when 10k runners were suddenly swerved to the side of the road to slap the power boards and then swerved back. Very annoying.
- I very much preferred the 2016 route as it got the Itchen Bridge out of the way early in the race and it was down hill all the way to the finish from the top of the common.
- The route through Queen's Park was dangerous with all the slower 10k runners. It may have been okay with just the half and marathon runners as we were well spread by that stage of the race. Queen's Terrace road should have been used.
- Pace makers should have been running with their time flag.
- Could it be held earlier in the year so that the weather could be cooler? Well we do all our training in the winter in the dark evenings, so it's harder work when the sun is on you.

That's all


Martin

Excellent encouraging support around the whole course from locals, students, Scout groups and Churches. Well manned water stations and it was fun to run through the Saints stadium.

I thought the day was brilliant, very well attended, sufficient water stops & the medal & t-short at the end were excellent. However, the marathon was let down by the 2 lap course. I've done a marathon before & it's hard enough, but the mental battle of doing the same 2 laps is beyond crazy, so I would definitely recommend moving to 1 larger loop, as opposed to 2 smaller loops of the same course. :)

Great day, fab atmosphere and great organisation!! My only comment would be to change the route so that the Itchen Bridge is completed as soon as possible (it was a killer!) and to also run up a tiny bit further at the end, maybe round the roundabout, just to break it up a bit rather than running straight over then straight back again. OR if you are going to keep the same route then have a water station before the bridge as well as after it! Apart from that, everything was great and I can't wait til next year!

I thought it was a good run well otganised and good atmosphete

fantastic day, great atmosphere, well organised, could have done with an earlier drink station on the 10k
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Absolutely first class marathon experience. For a first run of the race the organisation was superb - the route was a good, challenging two-lap course with plenty of water available (Some other big UK marathons could learn from this!). The support around the course was great, and the finish area was perfectly positioned. Love the medal and T-Shirt too! Will definitely do the marathon again next year.

Could of done with a water break near the stadium that's my only downside due to the heat

the organisation was well planned and the course lay out was clear with plenty of support throughout. Great atmosphere and was very helpful have pacers with times shown on the T shirts.
looking forward to Next years Half Marathon. would like to suggest if the Water Tables could be on both sides of the race, found it difficult at one table to cross over in the crowds to grab a water bottle.

I was running in my first attempt at the Half Marathon for the Southampton Hospital Charity (neonatal unit) and experienced one of the most enjoyable and memorable days of my life. The event was very well organized down to the last detail and the support from the marshals, helpers etc was excellent. The course was very clearly signed and it was so useful to have the mileage markers around the course. The additional support from complete strangers was a credit to the City of Southampton. My wife, daughter and 2 year old grandson were also there supporting me at the start and finish and my eldest son spurred me on as I passed through The Common. Well done Rees Leisure for a first class promotion and I look forward to repeating the experience next year. ( Peter Baker 4753 )